December 5, 2017
(ReadyNutrition.com) We know that exercise is great for our bodies, but did you know it’s also great for your brain? A new study shows that running, even more than other aerobic or high-intensity exercises increases the development of neurons in the parts of the brain we use for learning and retaining information. Researchers saw that the hippocampus lights up on imaging scans during running (indicating growth and new connections) but stays dark during exercises like weight lifting.
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I practice high-intensity interval training myself (with exercises like weight lifting or rope jumping) because studies show that exercising in this way burns more calories; however, the effects of neurogenesis only occur during sustained running (i.e., at a steady pace for 20 minutes or more). And compared to those who are sedentary, subjects who ran three times a week had 2-3 times more hippocampal neurons at the end of the study. While researchers are not exactly sure why these results are the case, there are theories about how sustained increased respiration (and therefore oxygen) and blood flow contribute to this brain activity. Running has even been shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in known patients and researchers believe there may soon be evidence that running can prevent the disease altogether.
This is all well and good, but what if, like me, you don’t currently run? Or what if you don’t work out at all? Starting a running routine can seem overwhelming, but there’s an app that can help.
